Steel box.



e. F. BEHRINGER..

`STEEL BOX. APPLICATION FILED JULY 7 19}5 Patented Aug. 21,

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Ez'gl G. F. BEHRINGER.

1917. z'sHEUs-snar 2.

STEEL BOXI APPLICATION FILED IULY'?. 1915'.

-Patented Aug. 21,

vbeing separated and then U TE STATES 1PAriirijTj'OEEIOEl GROVER E. BEHRINGER, OE DEFIANOE, OHIO, AssIGNOH rro THEnEFIANoErHEssED STEEL COMPANY, OE DEEIANOE, OHIO, A `coiaromirloix OE OHIO.

STEEL Box.

Specification of Letters Patent.`4` l Patented Allg'. 21, 1917.

Application iled J'uly 7, 1915'. I Seria1No.38,397. y l

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, GROVER F.7BEHR1NGER,y

a citizen of the United States, residing at Defiance, in the county of Defiance and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steel Boxes, of

which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying a receptacle which can be'used for holding a'- heavy content in transportation and then have its several parts arranged so compactly that they shall occupy but little space and can be economically sent by return freight for later loads and shipments.

Figure 1 is a perspectiveview of a sheet metal box embodying myimprovements, with the parts opened andl secured together in box form; i'

Fig. 2 shows the parts :of the box after packed together in knock-down form; Y f

' Fig. 3 shows the parts in the relationship they are in Fig. 2, but in inverted position;

Fig. 4 is a perspective of the side walls and the ends of the box inthe positions occupied when partlyv open; n

Fig. 5 is a perspective of theseparts `when v folded together;

Fig. 6 is a perspective of the bottom;

Fig.` 6a is a cross section on the line 6&-6a

of Fig. 6

Figs. 7 and f are perspective views of the lock pieces that hold the end walls rigid when .in open position Fig. 8 is a cross section on a larger scale, showing the parts in the positions occupied when disposed as in Fig. 2; i v

Figs. 9 and 10show-details.

4The box ismade with side walls 1 and 2. and with end walls each formed Ain halves or;

parts 3 and 4. i l

Each side wall `is ormedtof a sheetv of metal with beads `S, at the bottom, and 9.at

the top. The beads tightly inolose the top bar and the bottom bar of the rectangular bead. wire 11, the vertical legs of this wire vnot engaging with the sheet metal of the.y

side walls.

Each section 3 Iof the end wall is formed of a; sheet of metal beaded at 12at the top,

at 18 at the bottom, and at 15- alongthe outervertical lside edge.` At the inner vertical yside edge the sheet is cut aw'ayto form a v .60 I beads 16, aroundvthe verticalleg of the bead` series of tongues which can be' bent, as short wire 14.

`The sections or halves vk4 ofthe l-end 1 walls are constructed to be .substantiallyv similar to the sections *3, 3, they having, however, some additional det bereferred tobelow. 1 y,

The kbead-wires14 for these end sections 3 and 4 are not completereotangles, as are the wires 11 for the side walls, but are `U-shaped,

the end metal and leaving the outer vertical bead 15 of cachend ksection to serve asa tubes surrounding the adjacent bead wires ai-ls which will v the top-and bottom end Vparts of each bead f wire 14 terminating near the outer edge of.

14, respectively. Thesehinge clips are of a length equal to the distance betweenfeach short bead section 16 ,andits neighbor. 3As

many of these hinge -clips are provided as` possible, fourbeing kshown in the construction in the drawings. They provide :a strong bracing hinge union which occupies but little space and has its partsy so distributedv as to resist wear. f p

VThese 4end halves or sections 3 and 4 respectively joined to` the side walls 'by meansy ofv the; hinge elements 15, lwhich closely encircle the vertical legs of the bead i l wires/,11, butv are. loose enoughy toturn around them. The hingingparts are` rein-4 forced and held in place, andthe joints be-f'l tweenlthe side walls vand the end walls, atl the. corners of the box, are lmade tight andv braced andstrengthened by means of asupj` l plementalstripylO. Each `of theseis riveted to the sidewalls fat 1.011 and is beaded around 1 the hingebead 15 and around the verticaliy legofthe bead wire 11.r

The hingingof lhe endysections and with each other and of each -with an adjacent sidef wallfpermits movement suiicientlyV free-to allow theendwalls to betolded to-.g

gether and the side walls to be brought closely in parallelism with them, and with eachother, as shown in Fig. 5.

rll`h-e bottom of the box 5 is formed of a sheet of steel which, at its side edges, is curled up to make partially closed beads 18, and at the ends similar beads 19. The edges are not carried around to positions close to the ilat parts of the sheet, but are left suffi- Ciently open to provide one element of a sliding joint. The beads 18 and 19 are cut away .at 20 so as to leave open 'spaces 4at :21. And the central parts of each of the .beads 19 yare yout away as shown at 22.

rThe cover of the box is indicated, as, .an

entirety, by 6. It is bent to have vertical` flanges 24 at the sides, vand end flanges 127. These lside and end flanges are tightly beaded around the rectangular wire 26 which encircles the cover. r[he cover is of such dimension as to lit snugly dow-n, overi they get to their outermost position the sections `or halves 3 and 4 of the end walls are brought to the same transverse planes and their bottom beads 13 fit under the in-turned parts of they beads 19, 19. The cutaways at 21 permit the outer portions of the end walls to not only swing but slide, slightly, as is necessary when they are coming to their final position.

To lock the end walls in alinement curved sheet lock pieces 29 are used which tit respectively over the beads 12, 12 at each end.

The cover 6 can then be'applied by putting it into the position shown in Fig. 1.

Each of the end sections or halves 4, 4 is provided with a handle 32. Each handle Vis formed of wire bent to provide the hinging arms at 37 and outwardly turned stop lugs 88. The handle is held pivotally i-n place by means of 'a bracket 31, which is riveted to the wall section 4, and has hinge sleeves 33. lThe bracket is formed with 'a horizontal shoulder kand a vertical 'flange 35. When the cover 'is in place its end bead fits snugly in the space provided by the shoulder 34 and flange 35, and vall oit' the parts are thereby braced. 36 is an aperture through the metal of the bracket to receive ya wire 39 for seal 40, vand 41 is a corresponding aperture in the flange of the cover, the wire y 39 passing through both the apertures and the seal attached to the wire. When the package is used tor transportmg a body vof contents from one point to another, the parts are put and locked inthe relative positions shown in Fig. 1 and above described. Vhen it has reached its destina-` tion and the contents shipped therein have been removed, and itr is to be returned, r

economy demands that when returned the cubic space occupied by the parts should be much less than that occupied by them when opened out in their operative relative positions.

on the beads 12, the end walls yare turned inward at their central vertical lines, as shown in Fig. 4, and the side walls and yends are brought together, as in Fig. 5.

`The cover G is then inverted, and the :parts shown in Fig. 5 are laid down therein, flat-- wise.

Then the bottom 5 is also inverted and slipped longitudinally over the cover 6 and its contents. rlhe beads 18, 18 engage with the beaded edges of the cover in the way shown in Fig. 5, the bottom and the cover being shown in Fig. 8 `as inverted.

The cover being necessarily somewhat longer than the bottom, the latter does not entirely register with it throughout. But it covers enough of the area to Ifirmly lock the contents from escape. 30 indicates an aperture in the bottom for the sealing wire. When the cover and the wire are brought together in the way shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 9 the apertures 30 land, 41 register in such way that the latter can be used aswell for sealing the parts when in the knockd'own position as it can when they are extended or opened out to. form the box.

A .seal can be used at each end of the box when its parts are extended, there being an aperture 41 in each 'of the end langes'27 of the lcover and there being a handle bracket 81 on each of the end sections'4, and each bracket having an aperture 36 for the seal wire. When the box is being returned in knock-down condition it is not necessary to have more than a single seal.

llVhat l claim is:

1. A. collapsible box having three unitary separable elements, namely a bottom, a cover and intermediate structure with two integral side walls and twofend walls, each end wall being formed in two sections hinged together, said intermediate structure adapted to be folded into the space incl-osed by the cover, and the bottom being adapted to move longitudinally lacross the bottom edge of the cover `and having sliding engagement therewith.

2. A collapsible box comprising three unitary elements, `a bottom, a cover, and an lia l intermediate structure having two integral side walls, and two end Walls each formed in two sections hinged togetherl at their central vertical lines, and grooved lock b-arsfor engagiizig with the top edges of theend seetions and holding them rigidly in alinement,

the intermediate structure having all of its parts foldable to lie within the cover, and the bottom being adapted to detachably engage with the cover to retain the folding intermediate structure therein. y

3. A collapsible box formed of sheet metal having the three unitary elements, to

wit, the bottom, a cover and an intermediate structure formed with two integral side walls, and the two end'walls'each formed 1n `two sections hinged together at a midway vertical line, the parts of said intermediate structure being adapted to be folded together as described and fitted into the cover,

the said bottom detachab'ly engaging vwith `the cover, and the coverv and bottom `being provided with seal wire retaining devices, l

substantially as set forth. l

Il. A sheet steel collapsible box comprising the three unitary elements, to wit, the bottom, the cover and the intermediate struc-- ture having the two continuous sidewalls, and the two end walls each formed in two sections hinged together on a vertical line intermediate of their outermost edges, said -bottom having at its edges beads or upcurved parts adapted to permit bottom beads on the sides and ends of the inter# mediate structure to be bodily moved outward into engagement with the bottom beads, and means for locking the walls oftei-mediate structure havingl around the botev tomy edges of its sides and ends beads or V.projections adapted tobe bodily moved out- Copies of this patent niayhe` obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Washington, D. C.

ward into engagement with the beads on the bottom. Y

6. A collapsible sheetV steel boxhaving the three unitary elements, to wit, the bottom, the cover and thek intermediate structure formed with they side walls extending continuously from" end' to end and the end walls each formed inl two sections hinged together ona vertical axis, said side walls and end walls having outwardly extending beadlike projections, and said bottom having in wardly turnedbeads or projections.- at the side edges and lend edges which are shaped as described toprovideclearance spaces atv the corners of the bottom to permit the outward and inward movements of the corner parts of thev intermediate structure as the sidewalls and end walls are moved horizon- `7. A collapsible sheetsteelbox havingl the three main elements described7 to wit, the

having a rectangular 'bead wire andv a sheet of metal beaded at its upper and lower edges around the horizontal parts of said wire, and the end walls each vformedin two parts hingedtogether at a vertical axis and each end section having` a U-shaped bead `wire and a sheet of metal beaded at its top and bottom to the end arms of the bead.

wire and its inner edge beaded to the intermediate partof'the bead wire, the'outer verticaled'ge of the sheet 'metal being bead#b ed to the vertical partfof one ofthe side walls, and the closing vandbracing ystrips one at each corner ofthe box rigidly secured to the side walls and beaded around the bead ofthe end Ywall and around thebead wire of the side wall. l Y l In testimony whereof, I aflix mysignature, in presence of two' witnesses.

DEY AYERs, ELMER SPAHR'.

tally relatively to the edge projections on `the bottom. v

bottom, the cover and the intermediate kstructure formed with the side walls each l Gnovna r. BEHRINGER.. f* Witnesses: l l

Patents, 

